"Aqing, Aqing, you rebellious child, all you ever think about is Aqing!" Not to mention Du Wanqing, the very mention of her made Officer Jie lose his temper completely, and he impulsively smashed a teacup.
With a dull thud, the teacup struck the forehead of Jie’s second son, and blood immediately began to flow.
Seeing the bright red blood, Officer Jie was stunned for a moment. But as he recalled his son’s troubles over the years, he couldn’t suppress his anger.
"Everyone says you resemble me the most, but apart from your looks, in what way do you resemble me? Not one man in the Jie Family ancestors was like you. It’s not that I dislike Du Wanqing because she is an illegitimate daughter, but because that woman has ill intentions. Can’t you see that?"
Although the pain in his forehead made the second son of Jie feel a chill, he still insisted, "That’s because you all are prejudiced against Aqing. You don’t like her just because I like her, because she goes against your wishes. Once someone dislikes another, everything that person does is deemed purposeful and wrong. Isn’t that how you all view Aqing?"
At these words, Officer Jie was momentarily stunned, and it took him a while to regain his composure, after which he laughed mockingly instead of getting angry.
"Hahaha...right, right, you’ve actually come to understand these principles. I thought you were so blind and ignorant that you knew nothing. Heh heh, so you have a problem with Xintong, you find her disagreeable, and anything she does irks you, doesn’t it?"
Jie’s second son felt a sudden pang of anxiety but didn’t expect his own words to be so quickly countered by his father.
"Father, we’re talking about Aqing right now. Every time you side with Du Xintong, allowing Aqing to suffer so much injustice—don’t you realize that?"
Officer Jie retorted, "Yes, I do favor Xintong. So, tell me, how many times have I done so? Have I favored her more than you’ve favored Du Wanqing?"
"I..." Jie’s second son found himself at a loss for words.
The father admitted he was partial to Du Xintong; how could he argue that he hadn’t favored Aqing?
"Forget it, forget it. You are blind and ignorant. After all these years, I have been unable to change you, and I no longer expect you to understand. Get out, I don’t want to see you."
Seeing that Jie’s second son was bleeding quite a bit from his forehead, Officer Jie had no choice but to send him away.
Jie’s second son stumbled out of Officer Jie’s room in a daze, his mind a complete blank, as if he had grasped something critical yet at the same time not grasped anything at all.
When the servants saw the second son with blood all over his face coming out of the master’s room, they were all shocked and rushed to support him.
"Second Young Master, what happened to you?"
"Someone come quickly, fetch a doctor, the Second Young Master is injured..."
Concubine Du had nowhere to vent her frustration, having shattered who knows how many teacups and vases.
It had been said that once Du Xintong recovered from her illness, her marriage with the second son would be annulled, yet so much time had passed, she had recovered, but there was no telling when the annulment would actually happen.
They had brought it up, but their weak efforts were futile; the old man didn’t give it a second thought.
"Tell me, what is the second son thinking nowadays? If he had the courage he did when he married me and pressured the old man every day, how could the annulment not be successful?"
She asked the maid beside her while gripping her, her fierce and threatening manner frightening the maid considerably.
The maid, who knew her temper well, dared not say anything upsetting and instead soothed her by saying, "Back then, the second son was young and acted without the careful thought he has now. The second son must have a more foolproof method!"